Tonight’s Top Chef Masters preview: Bugging out

For the Quickfire, Chef Hotpants McGee (a.k.a.: Curtis Stone) tells the chefs they’ll be “going back to their roots” and have to create dishes with roots, herbs and some fierce-looking insects. I just want to know if they’ll have to kill the bugs themselves or if they were given live ones for gross-out effect.

As for the Elimination Challenge, Bravo is giving us no clues this week, but it looks like something challenging, stressful and it has to be executed in a short period of time (just going out on a limb here). It looks like, whatever the challenge is, Naomi Pomeroy steps up and takes charge of the kitchen, making sure everyone’s dishes are in line with what’s going on their menu. (Group challenge?). Anyway, some folks aren’t too happy about being “bossed around.”

Preview video highlights:

Mary Sue Milliken says she’ll eat animal eyes and brains but has a problem with bugs. Really? I’d much rather chow down on a cricket than ingest cow brains.

If it were one of the male chefs taking the lead (see second preview video) instead of Naomi, do you think there would be as much griping about them being “bossy”? (I’m pulling out my feminist card for this one.)

Tracy Des Jardin is serving gerbil for the Elimination? Gee, I thought they were sticking to insects, not using rodents for their dishes.